Nagane Aki

Nagane Aki 長根あき Is A Musician And Presumably An Arranger The Album's Information Is Not Clear On The Subject Who Plays The Mukkuri. The Mukkuri Is The Traditional Ainu Mouth Harp Or Jew's Harp. The Ainu Are An Indigenous Group Living In Japan And Russia On Hokkaido And Sakhalin . Among Jew's Harps Of Which There Are A Great Many Kinds From Different Cultures The Mukkuri Is Considered Very Difficult To Play Because It Is Exceptionally Large And Stiff Made Of A Split Bamboo Plank Whereas A Thinner Piece Of Wood And/or Metal Is More Common. In 2001 And Again In 2006 Aki Released The Album Mon-O-Lah Which Places Her Mukkuri Playing In A Milieu With World Beat Ambient And Traditional/indigenous Central Asian And Siberian Folk Music With Some Evocative Nature Sounds For Good Measure. It Could Be Argued That It Is An Ainu Album But The Ainu Are So Few In Number And Have Become So Forcibly Absorbed Into Japanese Culture That Outside Of Traditional Chant And Dance Performed By A Few Very Traditional Groups It's Hard To Determine Who And What Is And Is Not Culturally Ainu. read less